7 days of thinking ahead

Decided to post something different on my blog. This is an upcoming article topic that I’ve been working on with a nutrition group that I am currently involved with. Our current project involves ways of thinking ahead in a work week, many of these tips I’ve attempted myself.

Happy reading friends!

7 days of thinking ahead…

Day 1: Prepare for busy days ahead of time ie: breakfast on the go

Have you ever had a busy day, and had absolutely no time to fix something up to eat? Or even those in between days where you decide to hit up a fast food restaurant because you had no time? Well, preparing for busy days ahead of time will definitely help you out!

Tip: If you have a set schedule already, plan out the times you are able to prepare meals. Examples include: batch cooking, portioning, or even meal planning!

Day 2: Make use of the freezer

This might be quite strange to those who barely use their freezer. However, making use of your freezer can be in your best interest when it comes to food preparation!

Tip: You can easily prepare and portion out meals and freeze them! Make sure to know expiry dates of the ingredients you are using, and package them safely into the freezer. As a result, when you are caught up with your busy schedule, you can just defrost these meals and take them on the go!

Day 3: Batch cook

Batch cooking can be very effective when it comes to saving time and waste of food. Try cooking up meals that you can portion out as meals for a few extra days!

Tip:

Day 4: Portion out snacks

Snacking the right way is always hard. Especially when you can easily grab something quick from a vending machine or by a otnearby food court. The trick to make sure you avoid these situations is to portion out snacks, and by portioning I mean in adequate amounts and in healthy varieties.

Tip: Just like batch cooking, you can try batch snacks! Make your own batch snacks such as your own version of trail mix and portion it out throughout the week. This will help aid those tempting cravings.

Day 5: Plan meals ahead, saves trips to grocery store

What exactly is meal planning? Meal planning in general helps you prepare/set-up meal that are premade in advance. This will not only save you time with making meals during your day, it can also be very effective towards organizing your own personalized schedule!

Tip: Keep yourself organized by planning out specific recipes to make for your meal plans. Also, remember to change it up! It’s definitely not necessary to stay stationed to one specific meal throughout the week. For example if you had a quinoa salad one day, change it up the next! It can still be the same quinoa salad, just add a few extras to make it more exciting!

Day 6: one-pot meals in the slow cooker that is ready when you get home.

One-pot meals are a must for everyone! You can always customize what you put into the slow cooker. It is also a plus when you have everything in the slow cooker being ready once you arrive home.

Tip: It is helpful to have meals already prepackaged and ready to go when you are planning to use your slow cooker. That way, you can easily take your prepackaged ingredients and put it in the slow cooker! Therefore saving you time!

Day 7: Labeling/dates on frozen foods to know which one to cook first.

Labeling is an easy way to keep your meals organized once you have repacked them in the refrigerator! Also, writing on dates on frozen foods is important to prevent any spoilage and or when to cook it first.

Tip: Always make note of what ingredients you are using and of it’s expected expiry dates. Some foods do spoil quite easily compared to others. Knowing these dates can make it easier to plan ahead for meals.